"Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." (Matthew 16:24-25, NKJV)
"When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it." (Mark 8:34-35, NKJV)
"Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?" (Luke 9:23-25 , NKJV)
"If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple." (Luke 14:26-27, NKJV)
In each of the Bible passages above, Jesus spoke about the importance and necessity of taking up our individual crosses and bearing them. The fact that we have to bear our crosses suggests that this requirement is not a momentary or temporary one - it is a life-long requirement. This raises the question - What is my cross for today? What is your cross for today?
Many will say this is a gloom and doom message but with all due respect, they are wrong. This is not my message; it is our Lord's (Jesus Christ) message. My flesh does not want to bear a cross; my flesh does not want discomfort, pain, suffering, ridicule, etc. but Jesus says that I must take up my cross and bear it daily. Wow!
The cross is a symbol of death. Does that mean that we might be killed for our faith. That is a possibility. Can we rule that out? NO, NOT REALLY. Does that mean we may be falsely accused, bear a thorn in the flesh, be ostracised by society, be ridiculed and/or betrayed? That's right, all these are possible. Not everyone will be crucified like Apostle Peter or beheaded like Apostle Paul or persecuted in the same way as Christians in North Korea, China, Iran, Somalia and other countries. However, refusal to face this simple truth is equivalent to dwelling in fantasy land. It is not a very palatable message but it is the truth of God's Word. The early Christians embraced it to the extent that Apostle Paul and the brethren said, "We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:22)
Furthermore, we must crucify the flesh and die to self. Given that the flesh is so attuned to carnality, putting it under requires
Jesus said something about the difficulty we must all experience if we are going to make Heaven. In Matthew 7:13-14, "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." (Matthew 7:13-14)
The path to eternal life is narrow and difficult. It is rough and tasking but it produces joy and rewards. There is no other way. It is tempting to announce to my fellow Christians that the way of the Lord is rosy and a walk in the park. But the truth must be preached without fear or favour.
I do not know what your cross is and you probably do not know what mine is but God will give us the grace to bear our crosses. We can demonstrate to the world that in spite of the challenges of life, there is a WAY. His name is Jesus. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6). You can ask God each day what your cross is and also for empowerment and wisdom to bear it.
Finally, the words of Jesus should be taken seriously. He says whosoever does not bear his cross and come after Him cannot be His disciple. Question: Is it possible to make Heaven without being a disciple of Jesus? NO. Remember a disciple of Jesus is a 100% follower of Jesus. It follows that one must be a disciple to make Heaven and therefore bearing one's cross is a prerequisite for Heaven. This is because Jesus said that anyone who does not take up his or her cross and follow Him, is not worthy of Him (Matthew 10:38). One who is not worthy of Jesus cannot make Heaven. Let us be clear. THERE IS NOTHING LIKE A NO-COST DISCIPLESHIP. Refusal to be a disciple is disobedience. Refusal to take up ones's cross is refusal. Refusal to follow Christ (go after Him) is disobedience and disobedience is SIN. May God help us to receive His Word and obey 100%.
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